Spacer devices in the treatment of asthma

hould the BMJ reject all studies that do not include informed consent?That's a simple question, and surely the answer should be equally simple-"Yes."Unfortunately, ethical questions rarely allow simple answers, and we want help with answering this one.This issue includes a cluster of material that relates to the question.We publish the materialincluding two studies in which informed consent was not sought-to encourage debate and to arrive at a deeper understanding if not a simple answer.Medical journals must consider the ethical aspects of all the material they publish, and medical editors are presented with ethical issues just as often as doctors-that is, every day.